Alright, time to see what Mara's been up to since we last saw her. Keep in mind that she's officially done with the Empire and the Emperor having learned the truth about the death of her parents. Honestly, it feels like the kind of thing Sidious would do. Kill the parents of someone strong in the force, raised them in the ways of the Sith and say it was the Jedi who killed the kid's parents. That's probably something I would do, if I were obsessed with power.
Anyway, you'll be seeing one of the original planes from Ace Combat, which Mara will be flying during her time on Remnant or at least until it's either damaged or forced to eject, so this will be her aircraft until further notice.
Now, let's get onto the reviews.
Luffy L Deathwalker: Yeah, I did, originally it was going to be based on the inspector involved with the Jack the Ripper murders, but I decided to change it at the last minute. But as for them helping out in Atlas, I'm not so sure at the moment.
The Guest Reviewer: Thanks. I did forget about Rose calling March Archie. Thanks for the reminder.
BlindFaunusGirl: I'm sure you'll like the story I've recommended for you. Now, as for my RWBY/Bad Batch story, I'm sure you'll like it, aside from the pairing you like and that other idea I mentioned. I think I'll send you a message about another idea for the story later.
54godamora: Really? It reminded you of Fallout: New Vegas?
SunPhoenix90: Ah, you're a Beast Wars fan? I'll admit, I haven't watched it or Beast Machines and I'm more partial to Optimus Prime than Optimus Primal, but I think I'll check them out after I finish Naruto. Now as for my favorite Duel Monsters cards, I've got a lot of them, but my top favorites are The Black Luster Soldier, Dark Magician Girl, Slifer The Sky Dragon, Buster Blader, Junk Warrior, Dark Magician, The Magnet Warriors and Gearfried The Iron Knight. My Transformers story won't be started until later, or when I feel like taking a break from RWBY and Star Wars.
Monster King: Thanks.
Spartan-626: Thanks, but don't you think a beating, burning and the loosing of a limb seem a bit much for Arthur to do? I mean, he is a knight and has a sense of honor.
Alright, onto the chapter. The song this chapter is 'Showdown' from Project Wingman
Disclaimers are the same as always, please enjoy.
Chapter 95: Wings of Jade
After a long week of looking for any additional leads in terms of the location of the Demon Lord and his allies, Mara was finally contacted by one of Lil' Miss Malachite's spiders that the information she asked for her been gathered. Cautious about whether or not she could trust the woman, Mare decided to proceed with caution and keep her eyes for any sign of treachery.
Her eyes darted left and right as she entered Miss Malachite's tavern before she took a seat at the table Miss Malachite was sitting at. "Do you have what I require?" she asked.
"Of course, I do, darling. Lil' Miss always delivers. Although, I can't promise you'll be pleased." The leader of the Spider gang answered.
"Anything is better than nothing." Mara replied.
"Well then, word is they were seen boarding the Argus Limited a few weeks back. While that isn't far from here, Argus is rarely a destination for folks these days. Chances are they'll be going straight to Atlas, although that is impossible." Lil' Miss explained.
"Let me guess, bandits?" Mara guessed.
"No. Something else. According to my spiders, something is launching a type of missile at the area around Argus and New Argus, so transport to Atlas impossible even with the closure of the borders. Then again, no one can reach Argus no. The tracks are still being repaired and the wreckage of the cars that came off the rails is still being cleaned up." Lil' Miss continued.
"Sounds like there's something else going on that's keeping them from Atlas." Mara noted while Lil' Miss smiled at her intuitiveness. "Is there another way for me to reach Argus? If not by land, then by air?" she asked.
"Sorry, red. But transport to Argus is impossible. Only way is to go through New Argus and catch a train from there. Air routes are out considering the new bug-based air type Grimm. Yellowjackets, Hoppers and such." Lil' Miss said with a smile. "You look like the sort of girl who knows her way around a fight. I like that in a client, so I'll give you this bit of information for free. A freight train carrying a prototype aircraft to the Sicario base along the coast is leaving Mistral in an hour. They'll be heading through some dangerous Grimm infested mountains. They'll need some protection from the Grimm, so I suggest you offer your services in protecting the cargo. Knowing Sicario, they'll have their work cut out for them."
"And you're telling me this, why? I thought you're someone who's looking to make a profit?" Mara questioned.
"Well, you showed me respect and didn't cause a fight in my tavern. Not a lot of people these days show me the respect you do, considering I know everything from my spiders. Like how New Argus recently had its leadership taken down by the works of a few people, and some detective." Lil' Miss answered.
"Then I thank you for services. But about those aircraft I asked about." Mara reminded.
"Afraid I can't help with that, no one knows anything about such aircraft." Lil Miss answered.
"That's fine, I'll track them down myself." Mara said determined before she got up from the table and walked out of the tavern. "By the way, I think you should get in touch with your daughters, let them know that their mother still loves them. After all, a mother's love for their children is important after all."
"I'll consider it." Lil Miss replied as Mara left the tavern.
After Mara left the tavern, she went right for the railyard where a freight train carrying supplies for the Sicario based was being loaded. Fuel was loaded into several tanker cars while ammunition and other supplies were loaded into boxcars. As for the prototype aircraft, it sat on a flatbed secured by cables to keep it from falling off or moving around on its journey.
The aircraft in question was equipped with twin turbofan engines, forward swept wing multi-role fighter equipped with an internal computer to operate the flaps and ailerons individually to achieve the optimal wing configuration for its current velocity so that maneuverability was not lost, even at slow speeds. Two small but powerful thrusters were built vertically into the fuselage for high acceleration, while its paddle-type 2D thrust vectoring nozzles along with it's wing design allow it to maintain maneuverability and stability at high speeds. Along with its stealth capabilities, the aircraft had four internal weapons bays that could hold anti-ship missiles and wide area bombs for ground attacks while it's six wing hardpoints gave it exceptional air-to-air capabilities along with it's single 20mm cannon and twenty-four hundred rounds of ammo. The aircrafts top speed was Mach 1.8, combat range was eight hundred kilometers or five hundred miles.
The aircraft was designated the ASF-X Shinden II, but it was mostly called the Shinden II. "For a planet that hasn't mastered space travel, the people have created some impressive fighters. I just hope they can stand against the Empire." She said to herself before she turned to one of the Sicario soldiers who was loading up one of the boxcars. "So, you need an extra pair of hands to protect this shipment from the Grimm, bandits and the White Fang?" she asked.
"Yeah, that's right." The soldier answered before turning to Mara. "We normally hire a couple of Huntsmen or have those pilots in the 501st and 502nd that fly the Accipiter's and Broadswords, but those girls and the rest of their squadrons are on assignment searching for the Eminent Domain, the flagship of our naval forces. As far as we know, it's either been sunk or captured by the White Fang or some other group of terrorists. Hell, it could even be those guys who attacked Vale for all I know. But considering the number of missing Huntsmen and Huntresses lately, we don't have a lot of protection."
"So, you'll take what you can get or risk losing all your supplies?" Mara surmised.
"That's right, ma'am. Even if we have to go it without any extra protection, we still need to get this cargo to the base. If you're offering to help us move our cargo, we'll make sure you're paid handsomely when we reach the base. Commander Frenken will see to it personally." The soldier answered.
"Well, anything is better than nothing." Mara replied as she walked back along the entire length of the train. Aside from the tankers, boxcars and flatbeds carrying both the Shinden II, half a dozen Hellcats and Rhino's, several armored passenger cars for the soldiers and a few gondola cars equipped with quad barreled anti-aircraft guns for engaging airborne Grimm. All in all, the train consisted of fifty cars measuring a half a mile long, along with a caboose and the two locomotives, a 2-8-2 tender locomotive and diesel hydraulic locomotive equipped with a snowplow was connected in front of the diesel engine. The snow had covered the tracks in the mountains to the point where snowplows were needed for running the trains through the mountain section of track.
With the snow came decreased visibility and the risk of derailments, frozen points and avalanches. Once clearance was given by control, the hydraulic engine of the diesel roared to life while the steam locomotives boiler sizzled nicely before the whistle and horn of both engines sounded as it slowly pulled out of the yard and onto the open line.
The train soon picked up speed as it exited the city limits of Mistral and began its trek through the snow-covered mountains, passing by old and abandoned settlements, speeding over bridges and through tunnels before it began to climb one of the steep grades that were built along what railroad men called 'The Mountain Road'.
As the snow was pushed aside, Mara kept her eyes focused on the skies for any sign of airborne Grimm that were probably waiting to strike at a moments notice. From what she gathered during her investigations about the Grimm, they were drawn to negative emotions and airborne based Grimm were known for their divebombing attacks, launching feathery and flaming projectiles and in the case of the new Yellowjackets, firing their weapons at their targets. The thought of the Arachnid and Manti based Grimm made her skin crawl, especially at the thought of what those creatures did to their victims. "These creatures, where did they come from? They're claimed to be mindless creatures, but the fact that they are drawn to negative emotions suggests some level of intelligence when it comes to the packs of Grimm encountered. Who created them and who's controlling them now? There's more to these creatures than anyone knows." Mara said to herself as the train entered a tunnel.
A Sicario soldier handed her a mug of hot chocolate and whipped cream which Mara found to be very delicious after it had cooled down. As she glanced at the soldiers, she sensed that they weren't like the mercenaries she had encountered when she was still a servant of the Empire. Compared to other mercenaries who loved getting paid to fight, these mercenaries had a different ideology they followed when it came to their work ethic. "I wonder how well they would fight against the Empire." She thought to herself as the train exited the tunnel. It was at that moment, one of the soldiers grabbed their weapon and headed out of the passenger car, followed by the other soldiers. "Trouble?"
"We got Grimm inbound. Nothing to fancy, just your Sphinx's and Manticores, but we can't let them derail us." A soldier explained as Mara followed them out of the car and into the snowy weather. The soldier's statement was an exaggeration as more than about two hundred Grimm began to dive bomb the train as the rifles and cannons opened up on the swarm.
Multiple Grimm were killed by gunfire, but to the surprise of the soldiers and Mara some of the Grimm that were killed were actually carrying Beowolves on their backs which landed on the train and began to attack the soldiers. Drawing the E-11 she stole from a Stormtrooper when she made her escape from Coruscant, Mara fired a blaster bolt that slammed into the wolf Grimm's head killing it instantly before holding down the trigger of her weapon and killed several more Grimm charging towards her.
More Grimm clambered across the roofs of the train cars as bullets and blaster bolts ripped through the air killing the Grimm, but some Grimm were able to get up close and kill the soldiers with a powerful swipe of their claws. The sound of weapon fire echoed around the area that no one noticed the large buildup of snow above them was starting to come loose as they approached a long snow shed, a tunnel built to protect trains and their crews from avalanches.
A Sicario soldier was killed by a Beowolf but not before the grenade launcher of their rifle went off and sent the round into the snow where the noise echoed and caused an avalanche. "AVALANCHE!" Mara shouted as the snow started fall rapidly. The train picked up speed as it approached the snow shed, barely missing the snow that would have pushed it off the tracks, but some of the Grimm that were following the tracks weren't so lucky and were swept away.
The shed groaned from the weight of the snow on top of the shed, but it held strong as the soldiers continued to engage the Grimm. More soldiers fell to the Grimm still on the train as it came out of the snow shed into a large valley full of snow. Several Sphinx's and Manticores launched fireballs at train's fuel tankers, but Mara was able to redirect the blasts back towards the Grimm killing them with their own attacks much to the surprise of the Sicario soldiers some of whom were killed in their moment of distraction. "Stop staring and keep shooting!" Mara shouted as the train rounded a bend and based an old settlement.
Firing her blaster at a few Grimm heading for the AA guns, Mara saved a few soldiers from certain death before her blaster clicked, indicating the power pack was drained. Throwing her blaster down, she drew her lightsaber just in time to cleave a Beowolf in half with her magenta blade, surprising several soldiers who had almost given into their fear of death which then changed into hope. Their moral soared as the train passed through a short tunnel and bullets continued to fly towards the airborne Grimm.
A Sphinx divebombed the train with its mouth glowing red hot for a fireball attack only for Mara's blade to slice it's wings off before it crashed onto a gondola where the soldiers gunned it down before it's tail could take a swing at them. All of a sudden, the train began to pick up speed as it approached the most difficult part of the line, the steep twenty-six and a half percent grade which continued for two miles. In the past, trains were required to proceed up the incline with a banker engine depending on the weight of cargo and locomotives. Most trains could make it over the incline without the help of a banker if they tackled it at a high speed before reaching the incline.
The Sicario train charged at the incline with the combined speeds of both engines, gradually making it up the incline part way before they began to slow down the moment it made it a quarter of the way up the incline. The reduced speed of the train made it an easier target for the Grimm, including the incoming Yellowjackets that began to open up with their lasers, strafing the length of the train. More soldiers were killed by as the Grimm continued their attack on the train but the merc soldiers continued to fight on, despite the loss of manpower. Some of the soldiers bolted for the Rhino tanks and used their missile launchers to target the airborne Grimm.
A barrage of missiles flew towards the Grimm, blowing them out of the sky in bits of flesh and metal as the train continued up the incline, still pushing the snow as it gradually made its way through the valley. Mara noticed that the speed of the train was gradually decreasing further and further until they were going at a pace of twenty miles per hour. Sheathing her lightsaber and picking up her blaster, she ran along the train passed the remaining soldiers and across the roofs of the cars until she reached the engines. "Put these things to full speed and give it everything you've got!" she shouted to the engineers of both locomotives who pushed the regulators and throttles to full power, increasing the speed of the long train as far as they could go until they reached thirty-five miles per hour. With the increased speed, the train made it half-way up the incline in less time, but they were still going as slow as a goliath.
"Damn it!" Mara cursed and bolted back along the length of the train with her lightsaber ignited, carving a path through the Grimm that were still onboard the train before she stopped on the flatbed the carried the Shinden II and reached out with the force, lifting the flatbeds and their heavy cargo off the rails giving the train more speed. The strain on Mara's mind was intense, but Mara didn't give up as the train came nearer and nearer to the top of the incline.
Just then, the Grimm started to back off much to the delight of the soldiers who cheered and tended to the wounded just as the train crested the top of the incline and began the downward decent. Heavy trains usually applied their brakes here to keep them from going over the posted speed limit of ten miles per hour and not exceed speeds of twenty-seven miles per hour, but the long train started to go down incline faster than expected. The problem became clear to Mara when she remembered something she saw in the cabs of the locomotives, the dynamic brake pressure on the diesel engine was lower than normal while the steam engine's brakes were almost completely worn out from the constant use on its journeys. "Shouldn't we be slowing down?" a soldier asked a tired Mara.
"I think… the brakes… are… not functioning… properly…" Mara panted as the train picked up speed. As she caught her breath, she noticed a sign on the side of the tracks that said 'Slow. Steep bend and ravine ahead. Five miles.' "Oh, that's not good." She said before rushing back to the engines when she regained her strength.
When she reached the engines, she noticed that both engineers were struggling for control of the engines. "If we don't stop in time, we'll fall right off the iron bridge that crosses the ravine!" the engineer of the diesel engine shouted. Mara ran back outside the cab and opened the panel where the engine was located and gave it a jolt of Force Lightning that rebooted the dynamics just enough for the engineer to regain control as they passed over the iron bridge with control before entering the last tunnel, finally exiting 'The Mountain Road'.
A sigh of relief from the surviving soldiers reduced the tensions as the train blasted through the last snow drift and over a set of points that led to another route where a passenger train was waiting for the merc train to pass.
Hours passed as the train continued down the line before it crested over a short hill and arrived at Rowsdower Air Force Base, a back water military base once used by the Atlas military before they moved to Argus and gave it to Sicario several years ago. The base consisted of fourteen hangers, nine regular hangers and five large hangers, a command center, tenement buildings, fuel tanks and a communications tower. As the train came to a slow stop, forklifts and cranes were at the ready to unload the cargo while pipes were ready to be connected to the tankers and transfer the fuel into the bases fuel tanks which Mara noticed as she jumped off the train when it was going only ten miles per hour. "Seems like you guys are getting ready for a war or something. What's going on?" she asked a soldier.
"Better talk with the commander. He can explain it better than one of us regulars." The soldier replied, pointing Mara in the direction of the command center. Mara thanked the soldier and headed for the commander center where she met the leader of Sicario, Arnold Frenken, a man who was not interested in fortune, but making a place for himself in the history of Remnant. His black hair, average build and silver eyes along with the flight uniform he wore told Mara that he was a warrior not of the land, but of the sky considering his callsign was Assassin 1 meaning he was a squadron leader.
"So, you're the huntress that helped protect our train? You look a lot younger than I thought you'd be." The commander said, getting Mara to become a little irritated. "Relax, I'm only joking. The men already told me everything before they left Mistral. I extend my personal thanks for protecting the cargo on the train, it's our last shipment from Mistral before we pull out of Anima."
"You guys are leaving the continent?" Mara questioned as the commander pulled out a bottle of brandy and poured himself a drink, even offering one to Mara. "Thanks, but I'm still a minor." She declined.
"Orders from our current client, Jacque Schnee. Things in Atlas and Mantle are getting worse by the day, especially with the closure of the borders and Dust Embargo. Only thing getting in is basic supplies for the people of the kingdom, including the settlements that live out in the tundra away from the trouble. Sure, Robyn and her Huntresses have been protecting Mantle, but the general hasn't actually sent any forces down to protect the old city." Arnold explained with a sigh, taking a sip of his brandy. "Honestly, I'd be better taking a job from the Mistral council, but the head of the SDC can be very persuasive with his threats of blackmail and branding us as terrorists. If anything, we'll be getting a lot of money from this job, but that means having to take orders from that greedy bastard and we need the money for new parts for our planes."
"What about the Shinden II? Aren't you going to test it?" Mara asked.
"That was the original plan, but the Schnee man demanded that we 'get our asses back to Atlas to complete our contract with the SDC or he'll throw us in jail for breaking international law' his words not mine. But we're still waiting on contact from Sakamoto, Rall and the Eminent Domain." The commander answered before he just received a message from one of the cargo ship captains that they picked up a message from the Eminent Domain and the squadron leaders he mentioned. "Well, that's just great. It seems the Eminent Domain is under attack. The battleship and its fleet docked at one of our island repair stations and now they're under attack by unknown fighters and bombers. They've already lost their anti-air defenses and need reinforcements. Unfortunately, all of our planes are in Atlas right now, we can't send anyone." He hissed.
"Do you have any pilot suits?" Mara asked. "If you can fuel up the Shinden II and arm it for air-to-air combat, I'll personally ensure that your men make it to Atlas alive. I'm heading there anyway."
"You ever fly a plane before?"
"I've flown something similar to a plane. It shouldn't be that hard. Give me double racks air-to-air missiles and load up some extra's in the secondary weapons bay." Mara answered.
"I think we'll even sweeten the agreement we made with you and allow you to keep the Shinden II. I have a feeling you're going to need it miss…" Frenken inquired.
"Jade. Mara Jade." Mara answered.
"There's a spare flight suit in the second hanger. We'll get your plane armed while you change. Be quick about it, I don't want to lose two full squadrons of pilots." Arnold told her as she left the commanders room and headed for the hanger.
It didn't take the ground crews long to arm the Shinden II. The wing hardpoints held two XMAA's each while the secondary weapons bay held six extra XMAA's for a total of eighteen medium-range missiles while the first weapons bay held six short-range missiles and its cannon was fully loaded for combat as Mara came out dressed in the standard dark green flight suit worn by Remnant fighter pilots with an advanced helmet on her head. Climbing into the cockpit, she checked the planes systems and found that some of the controls were similar to starfighters used by the rebellion and clones. "Systems are green across the board and all weapons are armed."
"Control tower to Jade, you are cleared to launch. The commander want's you to hurry and rescue our allies. We're going to need every bit of firepower we can scrape up for the Atlas job." The control tower operator said over the radio as Mara taxied onto the runway.
"Mara Jade, taking off!" she called out and pushed her planes powerful thrusters and engine roared to life as her plane rocketed down the runway before rising off the ground and it's landing gear retracted as she began to climb to five-thousand feet, leaving the coast of Anima behind as she headed for the open ocean.
By the time she was a hundred kilometers away from Anima, she picked up a call on her radio. "This is Major Mio Sakamoto, of Sicario's 501st joint fighter squadron! We're under attack by unknown hostiles targeting the Eminent Domain! We're outnumbered and taking heavy losses! The 502nd is rearming, but we're… Miyafuji! Break right! Too any nearby aircraft we need reinforcements!" a voice shouted over the radio before the transmission was cut.
Mara scanned the skies for hostile aircraft when she spotted an explosion in the distance, followed by the sight of a TIE fighter crashing into the ocean. "Imperial fighters! I thought it would be those droids I've been hearing about." Mara snarled as she pushed her aircrafts engines to full power. As she got closer to the battle, she saw multiple ships in the ocean below her. One Icarus-class aircraft carrier, a single Prometheus-class battleship, three Vulture-class cruisers, two Corvus-class destroyers and two Cougar-class frigates remained afloat while more ships were on fire and sinking as TIE fighters circled them like Grimm. Twelve planes were engaging the imperial fighters. A Dagger Kai with a gray body, blue wings and nose, an F2 with a white body, red stripes and black nose, an F35 with a cyan body with black trim and blue stabilizers, a green and brown Dagger, an old F8 with a blue marine and orange lining, an S33 with three tone blue and grey jagged camo, an F14 with a green fuselage and white nose, a black and white F5, two tone grey and blue MG-35, a black F22, one S30 with light brown and green camouflage and a single F20 with a white and red body.
Taking off from the remaining carrier were eleven additional aircraft. A white and blue F5, tri-toned blue and grey F22, one S35 with splinter grey and white camo, an F20 with a black body and a MG-29 with a black body, one S27 with a white upper body, blue wings and red undercarriage, an Accipiter with a black body and red outlines, another F2 but with a three-tone green and sand camouflage, another F20 but with a gray body and metallic black nose and one F4 with a tow tone marine blue paint job.
All together the total number of Sicario planes numbered twenty-three against more than fifty TIE fighters which now increased with several incoming TIE bombers. "Why would they send so much firepower to take down a single fleet of mercenary ships? Is the Empire planning to return to this world soon? Either way, they need some help." Mara said to herself as she armed six of her XMAA's.
(Showdown starts)
Pushing her plane's engine to full power, she picked out her targets in the form of several incoming enemy bombers which hadn't detected her yet. Closing the distance, she listened for the missile tone in her headset before she pressed the fire button. The six XMAA's from her secondary weapons bay streaked towards the imperial bombers, turning them into fireballs that crashed into the ocean just meters away from the battleship. "Unknown aircraft, this is squadron leader Gundula Rall of the 502nd fighter wing, identify yourself!" the pilot of the second F22 demanded.
"I was sent by your commander to provide back up! We can discuss the details later, right now we need to eliminate these imperial fighters!" Mara shouted over the radio, downing one TIE fighter with her gun.
The imperial fighter trailed smoke before is spun out of control and crashed into a friendly bomber, scoring Mara two kills. Barreling through the explosion, the S30 flew directly towards Mara before it pulled a barrel-roll and fired its cannons at the fighter that managed to slip behind Mara's tail, riddling the imperial fighter with bullets before it exploded in mid-air, the pilot of the S30 diving down to avoid the wreckage. "That's another kill for me, Trudy. You and the others still have a lot of catching up to do!" the S30 pilot teased over the radio.
"Shut it Hartmann! We can compare our differences in kills later! We've still got to protect the rest of the fleet!" the MG-35 pilot scolded over the radio, firing a missile at one of the imperial fighters, but the pilot evaded the missile only for the pilot of the F14 to down it with their guns. "Thanks for that, Francesca."
"No problem!" the F14 pilot said before joining up with the Dagger pilot. "Hey, Shirley! Let's turn and burn these slow pokes!"
"Sounds good to me!" the Dagger pilot agreed and both planes sped after a few fighters, running them down with their cannons. "That's four of these square wings down! Still, you gotta wonder where they all came from."
"They kind of look like those things that attacked Vale." The pilot of the S33 observed.
"I think they're related, but why are they attacking us?! We were defending ourselves and they attacked us first." The pilot of the black and white F5 stated.
"Who can understand the mind of the enemy. If they attack us, we attack back and defend ourselves. That's how it is for us, ladies." the second F22 pilot said in agreement.
"I don't know. I looked at my tarot cards before this started and I got the fool, devil and chariot in reverse, while the star was upright. Something bad is going to happen soon, but there is still hope." The F35 pilot said grimly as they downed a third TIE fighter.
"Focus ladies! We need to eliminate the enemy before we can proceed to our next objective!" the Dagger Kai pilot reminded the other pilots, just as Mara downed another two TIE fighters with two short-range missiles.
"Understood, major." The F8 pilot replied with a voice of admiration hidden to all but Mara. The Wildcat pilot dived over and fired their four cannons, shredding a TIE fighter to scrap metal while the Dagger Kai, F2's, two F20's, F5 and F4 formed up and launched a wall of missiles towards a dozen incoming enemy fighters. Some of the enemy fighters broke off, but many of the fighters were destroyed. "Oh, major."
"You say something, Perrine?" the S27 pilot asked over the radio only for the Wildcat pilot to claim it was nothing. The pilot shrugged her shoulders before forming up with the S35, S30 and S33 pilots. The four pilots each broke off into flights of two and ran down several enemy fighters, reducing the enemies fighting strength to about fifty percent.
"Oh yeah! Eat this you bastards!" the second F2 pilot shouted before launching every single one of their missiles at a group of enemy fighters, killing all of them. "Hell yeah! I just splashed six of them with a single volley! Top that partner."
"You never change, Kanno." The white and blue F5 pilot giggled as they gunned down another enemy fighter. "That's another for me. Eminent Domain, how many fighters are left?"
"Two dozen fighters left. Any of you without missiles, return to the carriers at once. Leave it to those who still have weapons." The battleship captain reported, just as a volley of XMAA's from the two F22's, F35 and Shinden II slammed into eighteen of the remaining enemy units. "Make that six left now."
With only six pilots left, the remaining Imperial fighters broke off their engagement and attempted to retreat, but Mara wasn't about to let them escape and gave chase. The first of the remaining fighters was downed by a barrage of cannon fire, blowing off one of its wings that slammed into the second fighter. The third fighter circled around and got behind Mara's plane, firing its cannons at the Shinden II but with the force assisting her, Mara evaded the pilots' shots allowing the F35 pilot to down her attacker with its cannon. The fourth and fifth pilots were downed by the two F2's while the last one was downed by another barrage of cannon fire from the Shinden II. "Air space is cleared. All pilots, return to the carriers. That means you to, Shinden II pilot, we'd like to express our gratitude."
(End song)
"Acknowledged. I'll commence landing sequence now." Mara answered, lowering her landing gear and guided her plane towards the first carrier and landed safely on the carrier. Her plane was moved below deck as the rest of the 501st and 502nd pilots landed afterwards. As the planes were moved below deck, the pilots of the squadrons walked to Mara who saw them.
All twenty-three pilots were faunus girls with the traits of wolves, dogs, rabbits, cats, birds, a squirrel, bear and weasel in the form of ears and tails. "My name is Minna Dietlinde Wilcke, Wing Commander of the Sicario 501st joint fighter squadron." The girl with gray wolf ears explained before she gestured to her squadron. "This is Squadron Leader Mio Sakamoto, flying officers Charlotte Yeager, Erica Hartmann, Perrine Closterman, Sanya Litvyak, pilot officers Francesca Luchi, Yoshika Miyafuji, Shizuka Hattori and Eila Juulitainen and lastly, flight sergeant Lynnette Bishop." Minna introduced.
"I am Gundula Rall, squadron leader of the 502nd. These are flight lieutenants Takami Karibuchi, Aleksandra Pokryshkin, flying officer Waltrud Krupinski, flight officers Naoe Kanno, Georgette Lemare, flight sergeants Sadoka Shimohara, Edytha Rossmann, Nikka Katajainen and sergeant Hikari Karibuchi." Rall introduced.
"My name is Mara Jade. Pleasure to meet you all." Mara said with a bow.
"Well, someone seems to be a sweet little thing and a good pilot." Krupinski teased, before Rossmann hit her on the head. "Geez meister, you really have to do that to me every time I flirt with the same sex?"
"You do it all the time, so yes. I do." Rossman scolded.
Kanno then noticed the lightsaber on Mara's belt and asked the question everyone was wanting to ask. "Are you a Jedi?"
"Not exactly… it's complicated." Mara answered before she asked a question. "Your piloting skills were incredible, how are you able to fly like that?"
"The answer's simple… we're witches." Charlotte answered before explaining that their squadrons were officially known as the Strike Witches and Brave Witches. "I bet you thought we were actual witches who could use magic like in those stories kids were read, well we're not. Sorry to disappoint you."
"Don't worry about it. Are you all heading to Atlas?" Mara asked.
"You're going to Atlas as well?" Nikka asked
"I am, because that's where the Demon Lord will be. I have to warn him." Mara answered.
"What do you mean, warn him?" Yoshika asked.
"It's a long story, it's better I explain it below deck." Mara answered and followed the squadron commanders and their squad mates below deck.
Voice Cast-Updated
Yoshika Miyafuji (Shiba Inu) Ilia-Chermami Leigh
Mio Sakamoto (Doberman)-Kira Vincent Davis
Eila Juutilainen (Black Fox)-Catlin Glass
Charlotte Yeager (White Rabbit)-Jamie March
Perrine Closterman (Chartreux)-Jad Saxton
Sanya Litvyak (Black Cat)-Jennifer Forrester
Francesca Lucchini (Black Panther)-Trina Nishimura
Lynette Bishop (Scottish Fold)-Kate Bristol
Gertrud Barkhorn (German Pointer)-Stephanie Sheh
Minna Dietlinde Wilcke (Gray Wolf)-Anastasis Munoz
Erica Hartmann (Dachshund), Miss Malachite-Luci Christian
Hattori Shizuka (Shikoku Hen), Robyn Hill-Cristina Vee
Hikari Karibuchi (Squirrel)-Madeleine Morris
Gundula Rall (Wolf)-Rachel Robinson
Alexsandra Pokryshkin (Polar Bear), Sienna Khan-Monica Rial
Waltrud Krupinski (Weimarner)-Felecia Angelle
Edytha Rossmann (Red Fox)-Jill Harris
Nikka Edvardine Katajaninen (Snow Weasel)-Krystal LaPorte
Georgette Lemare (Persian Cat)-Natalie Hoover
Naoe Kanno (Bulldog)-Mikaela Krantz
Sadako Shimohara (Japanese Hare)-Dawn M. Bennet
Takami Karibuchi (Red Crowned Crane)-Amber Lee Connors
Ryu Hayabusa, Zett Jukassa- Josh Keaton
Kasumi Hayabusa-Lauren Landa
Hanzo Hasashi aka Scorpion-Patrick Seitz
And this chapter is complete, and I am starting to think I am bringing in way too many characters from other lesser-known series, case in point, Strike Witches. I mean, don't get me wrong it's a cool series, but I think I'll take a break off bringing in new characters until Volume 7.
Well, Mara now has a fighter jet and is on her way to Atlas, but what is it she has to warn Galen about? Anyone want to take a guess?
Anyway, next chapter will be eliminating the source of those cruise missiles and clearing the way to Atlas before the big finally of Volume 6. If any of you are hoping to see Ruby pilot a fighter or operate the turret of a Y-Wing, you never know what will happen next, so keep your eyes peeled.
Also, I could use some clothing ideas for March, Rose, Kara, Lop, Faye and Zett for when they reach Atlas, it is a cold kingdom after all.
Anyway, please read, review and for those of you who frequent Deviantart, keep your eyes posted for my post of a certain helmet I bought recently and before I forget, a happy late birthday to one of my voice acting idols, Peter Cullen, the man who brought us Optimus Prime in Transformers.
Until next time.